Hmm. Not surprising I guess.
Compared to pool workers with the least exposure to trichloramines, such as catering employees or receptionists, swimming instructors were 2.4 times as likely to suffer frequently from sinusitis or sore throat, and faced a 3.4-fold greater risk of chronic cold, the researchers found.
This snip is from the above article and I have to wonder what the likelihood of these risks are in the first place. You see, if the average person has a 1% chance of suffering from frequent sinusitis or sore throat then a 2.4x increase of that risk is not really earth shattering. The people who write these studies are experts at making their results catch your eye by using percentages as opposed to actual risk factors.
I've got to say that I'm not suprised at all. I wonder what exposure to chlorinated water does to swimmers....any studies. Many posters (myself included) suffer with sinus issues; not to mention skin irritation.
I have a Swiss friend who claims that the use of chlorine as a swimming pool treatment has been pretty well phased out in many european countries......anyone know if that is true?
I have a Swiss friend who claims that the use of chlorine as a swimming pool treatment has been pretty well phased out in many european countries......anyone know if that is true?
Check this for non-chlorine pools in Europe.
www.nytimes.com/.../05pools.html
Also, the risks of chlorine are well documented:
erj.ersjournals.com/.../790
So I guess showering before you swim does your lifeguard a favor, among others:
www.nj.com/.../index.ssf
I believe I remember that one of the major colleges in the San Diego area was performing a study on younger swimmers and incidences of asthma a few years back. The atmosphere in the first couple of inches above the water line is (generally) supersaturated with chlorine, of course. That happens to be where most of us tend to breathe.
I never discovered what conclusions came out of the study.
Jim,
Just to be picky, as a chemist, I can assure you that the atomosphere above the water is not "saturated" with chlorine. Chlorine is a yellow/yellow green gas which luckily we do not have to dive through to find the water. In fact if you have ever opened a bottle of bleach, the strength of the chlorine odor is much stronger than in (most) pools. Therefore it can'tbe "saturated".
Leo
